


It Can't Rain Forever

by Anolty



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Character Death, Hydra (Marvel), Kidnapping, M/M, More tags to be added if I keep writing this, Not Really Character Death, Please don't drag me lol, Pre-Captain America: The First Avenger, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, This is just an old WIP I found, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, World War II, tbd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 15:58:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14897585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anolty/pseuds/Anolty
Summary: It might be stormy now, but it can't rain forever.In which Captain America is never created, but the Winter Soldier still is. HYDRA struggles to control their new weapon, until they realize there's a skinny, weak man in Brooklyn that the soldier would do anything to protect.(Found this WIP while going through my computer and thought I would post the first few pages. If people want more, I'll write more!)





	It Can't Rain Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thanks for clicking on this story (If you can call it that). I was going through my computer files and found this old WIP that I had fully intended on finishing. I've got an outline and everything, but figured I should get some feedback on the first couple pages before I wrote the rest of it. If you enjoy it, let me know and I can work on continuing it! The idea is that Steve never became Captain America, but Bucky still gets captured and becomes the Winter Soldier. HYDRA struggles to control him, so they kidnap Steve to use as a method of keeping Bucky in line. I was intending to keep the story going through time and end it somewhere after the fall of Project Insight/HYDRA. Let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is encouraged (Emphasis on constructive).

It’s the second week of December, and Steve thinks he’s never felt this cold in his entire life. It’s probably just because the heater broke (again, third time in five years) and he can’t afford to get it fixed, or maybe Molly down at the corner store is right, and God is punishing everyone because of the war. It’s definitely the heater. Christmas without Bucky isn’t going to be very eventful, even though Mrs. Banks across the hall said he could come over for dinner if he would watch her kids for free next Saturday. He’ll probably end up watching the kids anyways and feigning sickness the night of the dinner. It’s not that Steve wants to spend Christmas alone, but he knows he will anyway because he won’t want to intrude on the Barnes or the Banks time together, so instead he’ll wrap himself in blankets and draw sketches to send with his next letter to Bucky. Steve’s intensely focused on not burning his last slice of bread when he hears a sharp knock on the door. He hasn’t had company in month’s (and now that he thinks about it, the last person in this apartment besides him was probably Bucky) but he answers the door anyway because it must be something important. His heart drops into his stomach immediately, because he knows exactly what’s happened. Nothing could make Winifred Barnes cry like her children, and two of the three are clutching at her right now. Rebecca’s grabbed hold of her hand for dear life, and the baby sitting on her hip just looks confused by her tears. In her right hand, is a piece of paper. Wordlessly, Winnie holds the paper out for Steve to take, as if she wants him to read it (but he already knows what it says).

_Mr. & Mrs. Barnes,_

_I regret to inform you that Sergeant James Barnes has gone missing behind enemy lines on the 5th of December, and as a result, I must declare him as killed in action. With reference to the death of the above named, you are informed that under certain conditions…_

He doesn’t bother reading any further because Steve’s worst nightmares have already been confirmed. The last person on Earth who he truly cared for, and returned that care, was dead. Bucky was dead.

* * *

“Dr. Zola, it is nice to see you again.”

“And you as well, General Karpov.”

“I’ve been told that you are unable to control your soldier, doctor. Surveillance tapes alone have shown you are incapable of bending him to your will.

_”You won’t kill me! The worst you can ever do is torture me, but you won’t ever kill me, because you need me! You sick bastards don’t want me dead.”_

“He has proved most resilient. However we anticipated this from him, and will plan accordingly.”

“Do not disappoint me, Doctor. The soldier could become HYDRA’s best weapon.”

“You will not regret your decision, General.”

* * *

There is no body to bury, but the army gave a funeral allowance anyways, so there’s a small funeral three days after the letter came. The coffin is the cheapest in Brooklyn, because Mr. Barnes figured that since there was no body inside, there wasn’t much point in wasting money on a nice coffin to be buried empty six feet under. They used the money instead to buy a nicer headstone, but it was still nothing fancy.

_James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes_

_March 10th, 1917 - December 5th, 1944_

_A good brother, soldier, and friend._

Steve was surprised at the amount of people who showed up. He knew that Bucky had been popular, proved by the number of people attending who were neighbors or friends of his or his families. Steve found himself receiving condolences more than he was giving them (And wasn’t that just a shame, because this wasn’t even his first funeral), and a lot of people just found themselves standing around while the line of people dwindled away. The priest said a few words, and then Steve helped Mr. Barnes and a few other men (Who were much stronger than himself) lower the casket into the ground. He watched as Bucky’s mom, dad, and sister threw dirt onto an empty casket, and then it was his turn. He felt numb the whole time, not really acknowledging that he would never see Bucky again, because he couldn’t think like that. If he let himself be reminded that he was going home to an empty apartment that would stay empty, he’d break down in front of the whole crowd.

On the way home, Steve tried to enlist again, but the war was starting to come to an end and the army wasn’t so desperate for soldiers anymore, so they turned him away easily with an F4 stamped on his form.

* * *

“Dr. Zola, I believe I have found a way to make our asset behave properly.”

“How so? I should warn you that wasting my time with useless theories will not gain you a promotion at HYDRA, Doctor.”

“Not at all, sir. But the asset, in his previous life, had someone very close to him. Someone frail and often sickly, that he cared for very deeply.”

“Is this person still alive, Wilson?”

“Yes, sir. Living alone in Brooklyn, New York. He once shared a home with the asset, before his enlistment.”

“I want him at this base tomorrow evening. Tell General Karpov of your plan and the tools required. Do not disappoint, if this is as successful as you are hoping things will go quite smoothly for us all. Hail HYDRA.”

“Hail HYDRA!”

* * *

It’s March now, March 10th to be exact. It’s warm enough now that Steve’s sitting on the fire escape with a cheap bottle of whisky dangling from his hand. It’s been a rough day for all of them, one that normally should have been a day of celebration and happiness. He would’ve woken Bucky up this morning with a deep kiss and a plate of eggs (Hot coffee too). They would’ve gone to Coney Island, or a baseball game, or just stayed home while Steve read aloud. Whatever Bucky wanted to do, and for dinner they would’ve gone to Mr. and Mrs. Barnes apartment two blocks over and had Bucky’s favorite meal for dinner – Ham and beans with homemade cornbread. Rebecca and his other sister would’ve been there, and they would all sit around afterwards and listen to the radio shows or dance or share stories. Mrs. Barnes invited Steve over for dinner anyway, but he declined in favor of sitting around drunk and feeling sorry for himself. There are only about three sips of whiskey left in the bottle, but Steve swallows it all in one go and uses the railing to help him steady his feet beneath him. He turns around, and his vision is so blurry that he almost doesn’t notice the guy standing in the middle of the kitchen with a gun in his hand. Steve isn’t exactly sure what to do, because he’s been in plenty of fights before, but he can probably count on one hand how many times an actual gun had been involved. He thinks he should probably throw the glass bottle at this guy’s head, but apparently he brought along a friend because someone else is throwing a rag over his nose and mouth, and boy doesn’t that give his asthma a real reason to go off. Everything smells like chemicals and gasoline and the man with the gun is in the bedroom now throwing around clothes and furniture. Steve figures this is some kind of robbery, or maybe revenge for something stupid he’d done, but there isn’t anything valuable when it comes to money that’s really worth stealing. His vision was pretty blurry from the alcohol, but the chemicals on the rag make huge black spots appear every few seconds, and the two men start to drag him out of the apartment by the time the spots completely take over.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if there's any typos or storyline mistakes (This is a rough, rough draft of what would be the final product). I primarily watch the movies and not the comics (I've read a few but not as much as I probably should have). If I end up continuing this I plan to do a lot more research! Also, I'm over on tumblr with the same username if you ever decide to stop by.


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